This is the longest of the three trails, with a length of 6.5 kilometres, which is about a 2.5-hour walk one way. It connects Čavle with Podrvanj and the historic town of Grad Grobnik.
This is a one-way route. Distance, ascent, descent and time are for the direction shown; plan the way back too.
The trail leads past as many as seven water heritage sites. In the Podrvanj area, it passes four interconnected ponds that provided drinking water to local residents even before cisterns were built, and the route continues past Lokva, Zdenac, and Pazdeh.
Although the trail itself does not pass directly by the Grad Grobnik Castle, taking a short detour is well worth it. Visiting this Frankopan fortress will reward you with one of the finest open views over the entire region.
There are no accurate historical records, but it is said that the village of Podrvanj, before the construction of its cisterns, obtained drinking water from these ponds.
During droughts, Podrvanj was the safest source of water, not only for the locals but also for people from surrounding villages. There are stories that the locals were allowed to take water from the kalić up to three times a day, one jug at a time. A local man in charge made sure that no one broke this rule to ensure the availability of water for everyone.
In rainy periods, water flows from the first kalić into the other three. The second kalić is about 2 metres deep and the third one about 3 metres. It is said that
once full, they almost never ran dry.
At certain times of the year, the surface of Lokva is covered by a dense green layer of tiny floating plants – duckweed.
Just as in the past, this kalić remains an important spot where livestock come to graze and drink. As you walk along this section of the trail, you will often encounter cows from the local Frankulin dairy near the water.
The Frankulin family carries on the long tradition of dairy and cheesemaking in our region. Here, you can experience the forgotten taste of real homemade milk and sample authentic local specialities such as škripavac (traditional fresh cheese), skuta (curd cheese), škorup (clotted cream), and a cow’s milk version of the traditional Grobnik cheese.
This pond, also known as Studenac, had a significantly higher water level in the past.
However, with the recent widening and construction of the road, its natural water inflow was disrupted. It is assumed that due to this intervention, Zdenac , much like the nearby Pazdeh pond, now frequently dries up during the summer months.
The pond was restored in 2025 as part of our local heritage preservation project.
Pazdeh, also known as Spazdeh, is the final pond along this themed trail.
From Pazdeh, the path leads further toward Ilovik and Drastin, where you can join the hiking trail connecting Rijeka with the impressive spring of the Rječina River.
The time follows the DIN 33466 standard used for hiking signs: we assume 4 km on the flat per hour, 300 metres of ascent per hour and 500 metres of descent per hour. The longer of the horizontal and the vertical time counts in full and half of the shorter one is added. Stops, photos and a slower pace are not included, so allow extra time.
time = longer of (distance ÷ 4 km/h) and (ascent ÷ 300 m/h + descent ÷ 500 m/h) + half of the shorter
